“God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.” ... Daniel Webster ...
These posts will reflect my personal opinions, and views, of the world in which we live from, of course, the viewpoint of a conservative "Southern American".

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Caught in a green crossfire ... Paul Driessen

Caught in a green crossfire

President Obama’s war on fossil fuels is hurting American workers, families, hopes and dreams

Paul Driessen

President
Obama has waged war on fossil fuels for three and a half years – and
American consumers and families are caught in the green energy
crossfire.

They are getting hit with
higher energy prices, dismal employment prospects and a floundering
economy, as billions go to unfriendly overseas countries for oil we
could produce in the USA, and billions of tax dollars are wasted on
subsidy schemes designed to make “green” energy more competitive – by
raising the cost of electricity and fossil fuels that really power our
economy.

Even worse, his policies
are actively killing jobs and preventing job creation: in the oil patch,
coal country, and hundreds of industries whose survival depends on
reliable, affordable energy. Family salaries and budgets, health and
welfare, hopes and dreams are being pummeled.

In
reality, the only thing “green” about his ideologically driven energy
policies is the money leaving our wallets. Mr. Obama’s energy policy
isn’t about serving American consumers. It’s about appeasing
environmentalists and crony capitalists whom the President is counting
on for his reelection campaign.

In
an incredible “coincidence,” some of the “green” energy companies that
received portions of the $15 billion in taxpayer-financed US Energy
Department loans and grants are run or backed by some of President
Obama’s biggest campaign donors. Solyndra – the solar company that went bankrupt, fired its employees and now cannot repay its $535-million loan – is just one example.

Presidential
candidate Obama said energy prices “would necessarily skyrocket” under
his policies. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said “somehow we have to
figure out a way to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe”
(over $8 per gallon), to reduce consumption. And EPA Administrator Lisa
Jackson is issuing carbon dioxide and other regulations that will drive
coal-based electricity out of existence, make cars even more expensive
and less safe, and give her agency effective control over our entire
economy.

Belatedly
realizing that supporting $8 gasoline is not politically astute,
President Obama and many Democrats are now trying to recast themselves
as friends of consumers, at least until November, by backing a few oil
and gas projects – while strangling other projects and entire industries
in miles of regulatory red tape.

When
the House Appropriations Committee asked Secretary Chu if his goal now
was to lower gasoline prices, he responded: “No, the overall goal is to
reduce our dependency on oil, and build and strengthen our economy” –
via algae and other “alternative” or “green” energy projects, mandates
for further improved energy efficiency, and even expensive biofuel for fighter jets and navy ships, to justify keeping America’s abundant petroleum resources off limits.

When
his comments sparked new torrents of criticism, Mr. Chu did another
flip-flop, saying days later, “Both I and the President and everybody in
the administration want to do what we can to lower the price of
gasoline.” Their anti-leasing, anti-drilling, anti-pipeline policies are
a strange way to do that.

Even
former Tennessee Democrat Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. has called on
President Obama to support more production from federal lands and
waters, and approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which
would bring 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada, Montana and North
Dakota to Gulf Coast refineries – and create 180,000 direct and indirect
jobs in the process.

These are two
long overdue steps, but there is no indication that the President will
take them. Worse, his administration is doing just the opposite.

His
Interior Secretary says drilling proponents live in “a world of fairy
tales,” if they think we can drill our way into more jobs and greater
prosperity. He sends helicopters out to find 28 ducks that died when
they landed in oilfield waste pits – and then proposes regulations that
would allow wind turbine operators to kill hundreds of bald and golden
eagles annually, without penalty, and fast-track wind and solar projects
that would severely impact wildlife, habitats and scenic areas

.

His
Environmental Protection Agency issued 588 pages of new rules to
over-regulate hydraulic fracturing that has been the only reason
American oil and gas production has increased under Mr. Obama’s watch.
Meanwhile, EPA, Interior and other federal agencies are issuing extreme,
often conflicting, environmental regulations that do little or nothing
for human health or the environment, delay oil and gas production,
saddle consumers with billions of dollars in extra expenses, drive up
pump prices, impair job creation, and deprive America of billions in
bonus, royalty and tax revenues.

In
an attempt to distract voters from these real issues, President Obama
calls incessantly for investigation into alleged “oil speculators” and
for an end to what he falsely labels “oil company subsidies.” In
reality, he wants to block certain oil companies from getting the same
tax deductions that other American companies are allowed to claim, and
hit the oil companies with $4 billion in tax hikes that will drive
gasoline prices even higher.

It’s like saying new regulations and taxes on coffee will make a cup of java cost less.

The
only way any of this makes sense is when you realize that higher
gasoline (and electricity) prices are the very purpose of Obama
policies. The President just wants to achieve his goals without leaving
any fingerprints – and by getting people to blame oil companies instead.

President Obama and his allies need
to stop masquerading as friends of American motorists, workers and
families – and change their energy policies so that they become friends
in reality. But don’t bet on that happening.

____________

Paul
Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive
Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality, and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death.

About Me

J. D. Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in “America First”.